Chester Zoo Hatch Their First Great Green Macaw Chicks

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: August 2, 2020 10:00 am

Great Green Macaws at Chester Zoo

Photo Credit: Chester Zoo

Keepers at Chester Zoo have successfully hatched the first two great green macaws born at the zoo in its history.

The pair of chicks hatched from their eggs in April. Since then they have been in the nest with their parents, Royan and Dresden.

The great green macaw chicks in their nest

Photo Credit: Chester Zoo

Zoe Sweetman, Assistant Team Manager of Parrots and Penguins said, “It’s been a wonderful experience to watch the youngsters develop – from tiny, naked and helpless chicks when they first hatched to the huge, beautiful birds we see now. New mum Dresden and dad Royan have been model parents, gently preening and feeding the chicks with their enormous bills and guarding them closely”

“It’s an incredible achievement for the whole zoo team to have bred these iconic birds for the first time and delightful to share and celebrate the news with our colleagues at the Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica, who we work closely with to conserve these precious birds in the wild,” added Zoe Sweetman.

Keepers have been keeping watch over the chicks to ensure they were growing well. They provided the parents with plenty of nuts, seeds and fruits to help feed them.

While the chicks have now fledged after 3 months they will remain with their parents for some time to ensure that they have all the skills needed to survive.

Great green macaw chicks at Chester Zoo

Photo Credit: Chester Zoo

Great green macaws can be found in the wild in Central and South America. Scientists have estimated that the remaining wild population may be less than 2,500 individuals. In Ecuador it is believed that just 40 birds remain.

The species is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Andrew Owen, Curator of Birds at Chester Zoo said “Global populations of the great green macaw have been decimated by more than 50% in just the last three generations. They are now considered very rare in four of the six countries that they are found. To have successfully reared these magnificent birds is therefore really wonderful news. We hope these stunning new arrivals will prove to be vital additions to the European endangered species breeding programme – which is working to prevent the extinction of these beautiful birds.”

Learn more about macaws – Macaw Fact File | The Animal Facts

Learn more about Chester Zoo on their website – Chester Zoo